Work Text:
The dress was made from a rich, dark shade of velvet. The kind of material a dressmaker would keep behind lock and key. The stitches were neat and expertly woven, the yellow trimming serving to complement the deep green hue. Kanaya ran a hand over the dress, smoothing it out atop the thick bed it laid on.
Behind her, the door opened with a scrape. Kanaya whipped around to see Rose stepping into her quarters, looking up at her in surprise. Quickly she bowed her head, making no attempt to hide the previous object of her attention.
“Milady,” Kanaya said. She felt heat rushing up to her cheeks.
Rose’s face betrayed no strong feelings of shock or disgust. She looked at her servant, then at her bed, then back at Kanaya again.
“I had finished my studies for the day early and thought to retrieve my painting set from my room,” Rose eventually spoke, her words low and tinged with faint amusement. “Although I will admit, my curiosity in the subject of watercolors and canvas now pales to what I’m currently seeing.”
“My apologies, milady,” said Kanaya. “My curiosity got the better of me. I had learned something of the needle before and wanted to admire the craftsmanship.”
Slowly, Rose walked over to the bed. Kanaya remained perfectly still, although she was keenly aware of her mistress’ movements. The way her eyes were currently running up and down Kanaya’s figure.
“Undress me,” Rose ordered.
Kanaya complied and began undoing the lacing on the back of Rose’s dress. After it slid off, it was a matter of loosening up the corset and reaching her arms around Rose’s body to take out the busk. With only a view of her mistress’ back, Kanaya watched Rose breathe in a deep, shuddering sigh of relief.
“I gather the day has been especially taxing?” despite her unfavorable position, Kanaya ventured out a question.
To this, Rose let out a mirthful laugh. “Did my face give me away, or my entire miserable posture?”
Rose was only in her undergarments now. Kanaya allowed herself a tiny glance, completely in the professional interest of seeing how dirty her clothes were. She then handed her mistress a bedrobe and set about folding her dirty dress, very expressly doing her job like a professional would. Professionally.
“Go ahead,” Rose indicated towards the dress on the bed. “Try it on.”
Kanaya made no motion to do so. “Are you certain? We are not so similar in height and weight, and it would be a shame if damage came to your garment because of an ill-fated attempt to squeeze it where it does not belong.”
“It’s far too skinny for me.” replied Rose, shaking her head. “I believe the duke who gifted it had not been informed of my measurements or so much as seen a portrait of me and simply imagined that I would conform to such an expensive endowment. Typical arrogance from such an established patriarch, really.”
This they both shared a laugh at. Then Rose said “I hope I didn’t offend you. It was meant as a request, not a command, but I am aware how the difference in our social standing may have made that sound.”
“I understand,” said Kanaya quickly. This room felt almost cut off from the rest of the world sometimes. The barrier between them, impossible as it would be to overcome in polite society, might just melt away. They could simply be two women who laid their thoughts bare to one another. But the moment they stepped out the door, they would be more. Lady and handmaiden in all things. “I think I will try it on.”
Kanaya’s work garments required no help to remove. It would be vastly impractical for her or any of the staff to require handmaidens of their own, after all. Still, as she disrobed, she couldn’t help but feel as though she were suddenly taking up too much space.
“You’ll need help with that,” Rose’s voice spoke from behind her. Kanaya’s breath hitched.
Comfortable wasn’t the word to describe how wearing the dress felt. Yet as Kanaya slipped into it, it seemed like a second skin to her.
“I’m afraid I don’t have much experience with this, so you’ll have to forgive any mistakes I make,” commented Rose as she did the lacings on the dress. “Or better yet, perhaps you could help correct them so I might gain experience on the subject.”
“I’m afraid to disappoint you, but assisting another in putting on and removing clothes is not a line of work which requires study,” Kanaya let out a little groan of pain. “That was a bit too tight.”
“And yet I already seem to be incompetent at it,” said Rose, amending her mistake. “Will you teach me about tailoring, then?”
“I was unaware that the subject lay within your sphere of interests.”
“It lies within yours,” Kanaya could feel Rose tying the final knot on the laces. “Besides, I would love to be able to properly admire a work of art.”
With it done, Kanaya took a step back to admire herself in the mirror. From an objective perspective, there was no denying that although it may not have been tailored for her, the dress fit her proportions very well. From a subjective perspective… she felt regal.
As she turned to get a look at herself from every angle, Rose bashfully admitted “My knotting may have been a bit haphazard to do your visage justice.”
“Don’t say that,” said Kanaya, still awestruck. “The results are- well. It would be brash of me to say. Rest assured you did good. Besides, if they truly trouble you so, I don’t expect anyone besides you or I will ever see this.”
“I wish they could,” in the mirror, Kanaya saw an expression of longing on Rose’s face. Then their eyes met, and it shifted into a smirk. “Although, if you were ever to debut in society in such attire, I could think of one thing which would make your appearance even more radiant.”
Her lady began to rummage around in a drawer from which she removed a box, and from that box, a gemstone hanging from a golden necklace. Draping the necklace over her collarbones, Rose briefly brushed two fingers against Kanaya’s neck. Kanaya felt goosebumps rise from her flesh.
“If I may be so bold, this noble look quite suits you,” said Rose. “Jade especially is quite complementary to your complexion.”
“I believe it is,” breathed out Kanaya. “As purple is complementary to yours.”
She could see it in her mind’s eye. As sparsely dressed as her lady might’ve been, Kanaya could imagine her in royal purple, stepping into a ballroom with her, beckoning her. They would take each other’s hands, step out onto the floor, and then-
From behind, Rose wrapped her arms around Kanaya’s midsection. She leaned forward and planted a kiss on her jaw, then let go. A single moment of fantasy.
It ended.
“I should return to my uniform,” said Kanaya quickly. “It wouldn’t do if we were caught like this.”
Rose simply nodded. “It would not do.”
Kanaya departed from her lady’s room soon after and returned to the servant’s quarters. For long hours into the night, despite how light it had been, she still felt Rose’s lips tracing along her jawline.
